Page 25 of SEAL'S Secret Vows

“Such dangerous hobbies.” She says, brows raised.

“I love them. They’re like mini-challenges. I’ve never encountered a challenge I couldn’t conquer. They give me thethrill that I get from missions but in a safe zone—if you know what I mean.”

“Joseph said that once. Safe zone.” She looks deep into my eyes, trying to pick up the stories behind those words, and I smile. “Why are you smiling?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because it’s nice to have you here. I haven’t had breakfast with anyone in a while. A SEAL’s life is within the confines of that base. Once they’re out, it’s usually them and their monsters.” Her brows furrow in concern, and I start laughing. “Oh, Nora. I’m messing with you. Speaking of base, we should go or we’ll be late.”

“Yeah, we should, but are you okay, Chase? You can tell me anything, you know.” She smiles wryly. “We are married, you know.”

“I am fine.” Unable to resist, I stretch across the table, cupping one of her cheeks, feeling the softness in my palm. “Thanks for your concern,wife. But I’m fine.” I reluctantly remove my hand wanting to keep it there for longer.

“If you say so.” She smiles and quietly pushes the chair back as she stands up. I follow after her grabbing my key from the holder.

“After you, my lady.” I rush to open the door for her, and she laughs.

“What are you doing? Don’t start what you won’t finish, Chase.” She says as she saunters towards the car. I jog after her.

“Don’t you know me?” I grin widely. “I’m the high and mighty Rogue. I always finish what I start,” I reply before opening the door for her. She raises a brow and places one hand on her hip.

“Don’t fight it, sweetie.” I wink.

“Sweetie?” she exclaims with a laugh.

“Yes. Now, take a seat.”

“Right,” she replies, sarcasm dripping from her lips as I shut the door.

As I move to the driver’s side, I rub my palms gleefully, I'm enjoying this much more than I expected. My phone dings with a message from Joseph, cutting my joy short.

“They’re here.”

Chapter eight

Nora

Amessage notification from Chase pops on my phone, distracting my focus from the huge monitor screen. Seeing who it's from, I swiftly grab my phone from the desk.

With curiosity, I open the text message.

The wedding pictures!

The text is accompanied by a smirk emoji.

I linger for a second, my fingers hovering over the message, and I feel a mix of emotions swirling within me. The last few weeks have been such a whirlwind. Sometimes, in the quiet, it all catches up with me. What if my wedding had happened? Would I still be here?

Chase rarely sends me messages at work and especially not during a meeting. They must have taken a break.

I can’t focus on the anxiety of whatthatmight mean—that this fake wedding was for nothing if the supervisors say no to our plan. Instead, I focus on the text.

The emoji adds a playful tone, but does nothing to relieve the anticipation as each picture loads. I tap on each picture and zoom in.

“Beautiful,” I say out loud, forgetting I'm not the only one here.

“What's that?” My colleague Emma leans over, and I back out of Chase's chat.

“Nothing. Just some memories.”

“I see. They must be really nice memories for you to say that.” She replies in a sing-song voice and shifts her focus to the monitor.

---